Assessment of the Performance of Routine Health Information System Management in Mali (2018)

Author(s): Aminata Traoré, Madina Ba Kouyaté, Abdoulaye Maiga, Adama Ouatara, Issaka Dembélé, Alamako Doumbia, Ismael Dembélé, Ouassa Berthe, Mamoutou Diabaté, Mamadou Alimou Barry, Jeanne Chauffour

Year: 2019

Abstract:

The 2018 Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) assessment in Mali measured changes in the status of the routine health information system (RHIS) in the years since the last evaluation, in 2013.

The 2018 assessment revealed significant progress in data use, data quality assurance, and evidence of data analysis at the district, regional, and central levels of the RHIS. However, the assessment also revealed weaknesses at the health facility (HF) level. Above all, data accuracy is a concern at that level—and only there—because that’s where all data are entered now.

Other weaknesses that emerged from the 2018 assessment relate to difficulties in archiving the health management information system (HMIS) tools and reports, poor sharing of normative RHIS management documents, instability and frequent turnover of health personnel, and security challenges in the north and center of the country. These problems have seriously affected the performance of the sites surveyed, especially at the most peripheral level (i.e., community health centers, or CSCom), not only in terms of data quality but also in terms of data use.

The assessment’s results showed that the promotion of a culture of information alone is not enough to change habits. Closer monitoring is necessary to strengthen staff’s capacity to work with the tools available to them and willingness to use the tools on a regular basis.

The results showed that critical management functions exist but need to be strengthened, so that they better support the RHIS at all levels of the health pyramid: HF, district, region, and central. The 2018 assessment also pointed to the need to sustain the progress that Mali’s RHIS has achieved.

This poster was presented and exhibited at the Global Digital Health Forum, December 9–11, 2019 in Bethesda, MD, USA.